Moments of Forever
by shadoewhunter
Summary: a collection of Peace Maker moments featuring a variety of the cast.
1. To Live Forever

Disclasimer: I don't own anypart of anything..except maybe my pocky and boba. But I gotta check up on that…

Author's Note: A collection of little moments in the lives of those of Peace Maker. Please read and review!

_**Moments of Forever**_

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**To Live Forever**

Sometimes, Okita felt he could live forever.

At times like when through the thin rice paper walls of the compounds he could hear a heckled Hijikata hollering at Tetsu-kun again, snippets of the conversation filtering in about spilt tea and wet bedding, Okita would laugh quietly into his hands, Saizou watching him with puzzled little eyes.

When Shinpachi had just ran by him reading on the porch at a neck-breaking speed, Heisuke close on his heels and both were screaming in a not so imaginary fear of the chasing Sanosuke who had purple and green strips drawn all over his face, a deed most likely earned by getting roaring drunk at last night's banquet no doubt, Okita would giggle and smile at the trio's daily antics.

When Ayu-nee popped her pretty handkerchiefed head into the door way of Hijikata's room as Okita sat chattering and Hijikata sat listening, a plateful of sweet little red bean mochi as well as some hot green tea on a wooden platter in her hands, Okita's eyes would grow big and round with happiness, clapping his hands like a little boy and grinning as he helped Ayu-nee with her plate of treats.

And when the night was still and cold, Toshi would pull a blanket around his small shoulders and scolded him with eyes that did not reflect the harshness of his words to not stay up so late in the cold. Souji would lean against the older man who would then say nothing as they sat there, the two of them not needing words as they just sat there, warmed by the other's presence and wishing that the dawn would not come.

At these times, Okita wished he could live forever.

AN: I will continue adding chapter by chapter. please review! if there's any special characters you'd particularly like, tell meand I'll try my best to get to them.


	2. Sake

Disclaimer: I don't own peace maker. At all. But these ideas are mine….

AN: please please review!

**Sake**

Hijikata did not really love sake. Oh, he enjoyed the cold chilled bottles it came in and enjoyed the company that he usually allowed himself to drink with. He like the way the rice alcohol slid down his throat a buzzing chill amongst loud voices and excited red faces. It was a nice calming reality to his world.

But there was something about the sting of alcohol and the numbing blanket of the senses that it brought, something he learned when he was a decade younger and barely growing hair on his chin. That something always inhibited him from drinking too much, especially ever since the time he'd had to rush out of his straw covered tatami mat on the ground, to the laughter of those in the hut in order to empty the contents of his stomach, liver, and intestines into the woods by where they'd been staying. That had not been a pleasant experience and he'd be damned if he was going to ever be reminded of it again. So Hijikata did not extremely love his sake.

_crash!_

Tetsunosuke popped a sour face and unhappy head into the wooden framed doorway of his sitting room where he sat in _kiza_, wiping his sword with oil and lightly scented lavender powder.

"Gomen Hijikata-san…I spilt the tea again." The vice chief's eyes closed as he fought the inner urge to just pin the boy up onto the nearest tree by his collar and just leave him there. He forced, slowly, himself to release the death grip on the katana in his hand and merely grunted a "get out and wipe it up."

As the sounds of muttered curses and the clanking of broken teacups, (he'd better not have broken the little brown and cream ones that Souji had bought him), Hijikata rubbed the bridge of his nose and wondered if maybe he should switch over to sake.

The bottles seemed less likely to break at least.


	3. The Art of Cooking

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Thank you.

Author's Note: Please review! This one didn't come out the way I expected….hopefully the next one will be better. Sorry…

Smoke driftedly lazily upwards toward the ceiling as Ayu-nee hummed and diced her white radishes into little neat rows. Suchini, cucumbers, radishes, carrots, they all lay in little surrendered rows just three-fourths of an inch apart from each other.

Cooking, was an art. Not a hobby, not an "enjoyment", but an art. Ayu-nee sliced away.

"Oi! Ayu-nee!" Sounds of running feet and not-so distant yells reached her ever- perked ears as she paused in the perfect division of a shitake mushroom. Wiping her hands on her lap and putting the knife down on the wood counter, she turned and poked her head out of the rice paper screened door.

"Eeee…Heisuke-san. What are you doing?" The huffing and puffing team taichou was holding onto the side of the slender wooden pillar holding up the building the kitchen was in as he fought to get his breath back.

"Ayu-nee! It's Tetsu-kun! Hijikata-san sent him off on a shopping trip to pick up supplies with Sanosuke and somehow they ended up at the local tavern with some of the other shinsengumi members, and it seems they wanted to see if the little puppy-kun could hold his sake, but you see Hijikata-san is going to have all our hides when he finds out, especially since we can't seem to get him off the roof---"

Without allowing Heisuke to run out of lung capacity, Ayu-nee immediately took him by the arm and ordered him to take her to the young page. However, even impending doom by the devil himself wasn't enough tostop Heisuke from noticing that dinner had been left half finished.

"Anon…Ayu-nee, will dinner be okay if we leave it like that?" Ayu-nee frowned knowing that she was already running late and she'd still needed to finish chopping at least half these vegetables…

And so Hajime Saitou, feared and mysterious hitokiri of the Shinsengumi found himself dragged out from within a shadowed alcove between the buildings and stuff into the kitchen with the wave of a kitchen knife, and tossed a flowered purple apron. He was good at hiding, but no one in the shinsengumi could escape the powerful eye of Ayu-nee the kunoichi.

Saitou frowned as he starred at the carrots looking up at him. The carrots starred back. He was poked at the vegetable gently, half-expecting it to jump out of the way and when it didn't he gave a slightly disappointed lowering of his eyebrows. Had she wanted them all to be sliced or diced? Were the radishes supposed to go into separate platters? Saitou knew enough about culinary aspects to know women were quite picky about things like that.

He was still trying to figure out what Yamazaki had specifically meant when she said "take care of these carrots and radishes" when the short 2nd team captain popped his head in, sweat covering his practice uniform. He'd been in charge of practices for the lower level shinsengumi this afternoon.

"Ah, Saitou-san. Fancy finding you here in the kitchen of all places. Kondou-san wants you in his study right away. Something about an emergency." Saitou nodded, half-relieved and handed the kitchen knife off to the smaller captain. Shinpachi looked at him confused.

"Take care of the carrots and radishes until Ayu-nee comes back."

Saitou left for the vice-chief's study, unaware that he still wore a colourful pastel apron. Shinpachi looked down at the cutting board and shrugged. If Ayu-nee was busy today, he could easily make dinner…

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Later that night, Ayu-nee went on a huge temper rant about "irregularly shaped vegetables" and "destruction of a fine art of cooking". However, the man she was misdirecting her anger at had been sent on a mission to Osaka and wouldn't return for a month. Shinpachi of course, had decided that however insulted he was by everyone's reactions to his fine meal, for the sake of his own hide, he'd best keep quiet about who really cooked the dinner that night. 

Saitou was a little bewildered though when his secret coded correspondences with Kondou included a side note regretfully informing him that he was forever banned from the kitchen areas. An additional note came from Okita who added that he thought Hajime should wear violet more often.


	4. Brother, My Brother

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. All characters & Peacemaker belong to blah blah… 

Author's Note: Thanks to my readers & especially my reviewers! It's midterms week, so I'll be busy, but here's a new chapter for you all. Once again, please please review! Reviews are the currency of fanfiction.

Brother, My Brother

"Ta-ta! Ta-ta-niiiiiiii---" The wide eyed toddler gurgled at his big brother who sighed in a helpless sort of way as the plump baby he held in two hands drooled a long line of saliva down the front of his kimono. His mother turned from where she'd been sorting through the chaotic burrow of a desk his father had and smiled at the way Tetsu kept trying to hug and kiss his big brother's face even as Tatsunosuke was trying to wipe his brother's drooling mouth.

"Okasan! He won't—urgh—stop drooling long enough—stop it Tetsu!—to let me clean him—oh!" The young child was forced to place his sibling against his shoulder, holding on with one skinny arm as he picked up at the handkerchief Tetsu had pulled at and made him drop.

"Tetsu! Stop gnawing on my shoulder!"

His mother smiled her knowing smile and turned back to the organization of papers.

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"Aniki!" 

Tatsunosuke was exhausted, worn out to his very bones from all the carrying, heaving, screaming, and grunting that he'd gone through all day since before the morning sun had dawned, but the almost primeval fear in Tetsu's voice jolted him wide awake from his weariness-induced stupor of half-consciousness even as he stepped into the small shack they shared as a home.

The small boy grabbed onto him with a desperate grip, holding onto his brother around his waist and burying his face into the stained and dust-covered folds of Tatsu's kimono.

"Tetsu—nani? Is something wrong?" The older Ichimaru brother quickly drew the boy back as he stumbled towards a wall, eyes darting around the room. But nothing interrupted the presence of their pathetic little hovel except the sniffling sobs of the little red-head.

"I…_hic_…don't leave…_hic_….me alone…_hic_…okay Tatsu-nii?"

Tatsu closed his eyes at the pleading voice of his child brother, the aching pain in his chest overcoming the aches in his body. He didn't say anything else but sat down where he was, pulling Tetsu close to him, the boy still clamped on tightly, and settled back against the rough wooden planks of the wall. Tetsu fell asleep soon, exhausted by his own tears and sobs, but Tatsu, despite his exhaustive day working to feed the two of them, stayed awake, guarding his brother from his fears of an empty room.

He cried silently into the sleeve of his kimono that he'd stuffed into his mouth to prevent his cries from waking the child sleeping in his arms, chest trying to not heave as he cursed himself for not being able to guard the boy from the fears of his own mind.


	5. A Hard To Learn Lesson

Disclaimer: Same as usual, don't own anything

Author's Note: Still working hard on midterms, here's a small gift to tide you through (don't feel bad, my Naruto story fans have been waiting a month for me to update…long chapters lots of work on the comp I don't have… - -") I will try to have a Trio story out sometimes soon. If Hikawa Kiyoshi, my muse will agree with me…..

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**A Hard To Learn Lesson**

Okita enjoyed annoying Hijikata. He loved the man to death, enough to die for him, but that expression that he wore when angered, the one where his cheek has a tick in it and his eyebrow starts to twitch, steam slowly rising and the eyes that burned with 7 levels of a threatened hell was just too much fun to ignore.

"SOOOOOOOOOUUUJIIIII!" The demon's roar shook half the buildings of the Shinsengumi headquarters, a neat 3.5 on the Richter scale.

Susumu sighed as he pulled Okita up by his arms up into the balconies of the roof again, the long haired young man giggling as he helped the ninja place the woven ceiling cover back in its original position. It shifted into its slot just as the two of them could hear the vice chief thundering around nearby to their lower left.

You'd figure he'd have found a better place to hide those Haikus by now.


	6. Stand Your Ground

Disclaimer: Own nothing. All their respected owners'. 

Author's Note: Sorry for the wait. Here's another. I'll have another up soon. Meanwhile, why not try reading some of my other stuff?

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**Stand Your Ground**

Shadows within shadows shifted and out of the darkness came a darker black. He neatly twisted himself, a graceful shift from his crouch to a half-lean against the building's roof, neatly sheathing himself amidst the shadowed darkness where the moonlight did not cast its touch.

Whispers of the wind brought the scent of fading summer and encroaching winter winds, the mix of a beautiful nostalgia.

_:Natuskashi…: _he thought in the hidden depths of his heart.

_Stand your ground._ Her words whispered to him, the wind bringing with it a caress that held him, blowing up a swirling world of leaves and shadows that flew up above his head, the long black straps that were attached to his arms and legs wrapping around him loosely.

The moon painted pale beams that split onto the rooftops as he let himself loose into the night, bounding soundlessly, fleeting leaps from one wooden banister to the next tiled roof. A quick flip of fingers on the side wooden bar holding up the side of a inn sent him upwards and he tapped his left foot quickly but firmly on the tiling, making the pieces quiver but not move enough to make sound as he ducked downwards and dashed forward, entering the heart darkness before him.

_Don't ever look back._ His eyes were hooded, the black cloth hood pulled down over his eyebrows, casting a crooked shadow over his eyes. He stopped momentarily, pausing to scan the surrounding buildings and alleys, only the neighborhood tomcat and an old sleepy drunk wandering the streets in the dead of night. The wind blew up and her arms came around and held him, the brush of her cheek against hers and the gentle brush of fingers that disappeared as soon as they seemed to appear. He let no emotion cross his face. Emotions were unfitting for a tool.

_What if I ever fail a mission as a kunochi? That's okay, little one. Because if ever I don't make it, someone else will stand my ground. Neh, Susumu?_

I won't ever forget the way you made me feel. I won't ever regret the _me_ that you made.

I will always stand my ground.

For you.

My sister.


	7. Early Morning Excercise

**Moments of Forever**

Disclaimer: I wish I owned PMK. But I don't. if I did, I would be much more rich.

Author's Note: very very sorry for late update. College sucks. Classes suck. textbooks cost too much…..

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Okita slammed the thin wooden door back on its slider, hard enough to knock some of the leaves off the large tree in front of the room, letting sunlight shine into the dark room where a bundle was huddled in the side of the room.

"Neeeeeeeh, its such a lovely day in autumn, the sun is out and I want to go fishing!" He sung as he bounded to the side of the room where a low heavy wood chest lay. He pulled open the top drawer and started digging through the shirts, pulling out this and that, trying to find something not so black. Toshi was starting to dress more and more like Hajime. Good thing he didn't start insisting on wearing those sound muffling fishnet shirts yet.

"Nya, I got Ayu-san to pack some food for us so we can walk around the riverbanks and pull out weeds and stick them in our mouths and pretend to be old fishermen and try to pull fish out of the river with our hands—" the younger bouncy man was scarcely visible in the onslaught of undergarments and haori.

The small bundle of blankets on the far side of the room visibly tightened in a shrinking fetal form. Souji giggled and finding a colorful scarf Kondou had bought as a drunken festival gift and somehow had wound up hidden in the dark crevices of the closet, he tossed it around his neck and threw a wink back at his favorite piggy, Saizou. The notoriously grumpy pig merely snorted and settled with its rear to the bit of warmth leaking through the tree leaves at the doorway.

"Come on! Up up up! Too much sunshine will make your rear baggy!!"

Toshizo Hijikata tried to make himself disappear inside his wonderfully warm, soft woven blankets, even as a geta caught him in the foot. After last time, he had started sleeping upside-down to buy him at least a few more minutes of euphoric bed-time.

He hated it. If the man was going to be so giddy and perky in the morning, he shouldn't be the one keeping everyone up at night with his singing. It just was NOT fair.


	8. Never Trust a Smile

Disclaimer: PMK isn't mine. I'm sure you've all realized that by now.

Author's Note: Ahh, haven't had much time to write lately, but I felt like I should update here. Hope you all enjoy! \o/

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**Never Trust a Smile**

"Ahh, it's so cute!" Shinpachi grinned at the object of Heisuke's exclamation.

"That's right, you look absolutely adorable!" He said, poking at the dressed up boy. Tetsu snarled angrily at the trio standing before him.

"Why do _I_ have to be the group mascot? This is stupid!" He squirmed a little, pulling at the tight-fitting pig costume he wore.

"I don't even like pigs! Couldn't I have been something cool, like a fox or wolf or something?" He pouted, eyes narrowed in annoyance. Shinpachi waved his hand at him.

"No, no, had to be a pig. Some old rule about having to actually _own_ the mascot animal."

Sanosuke nodded heartedly, slapping Tatsu loudly on the back. The short boy winced as his back stung from the blows.

"Yup. Gotta be a pig!" Shinpachi motioned at Tatsu with a shooing motion.

"Now get going! You don't want to make Hijikata mad by missing out in the parade, do you? And make sure to wave big as you're passing by!"

Sanosuke sidled closer as they waved at the short boy running off, pig tail bouncing, in the direction of the Annual Autumn Festival. Scratching his head, he elbowed Shinpachi.

"How much you bet Kondo faints on sight at seeing our boy represent the Shinigami in the Military Forces Uniform Parade?" Shinpachi snickered.

"I've got my money on Hijikata. The vice-commander's bound to blow a blood vessel at this one."

Heisuke sighed thoughtfully. Personally he thought Tetsu looked adorable in the thrown together pig costume. Ayu-nee had been suspicious but compliant as she'd sewn the outfit together with some scrap futon fabric.

"Ah, the joys of youth!"


End file.
